ORLANDO, Fla. – With the use of colorful ropes, a unique group is showcasing its talent and taking jump roping to the next level.
Devin Meek is one of the Orlando-based members of Flight Crew Jump Rope.
"I really love this job because, you know, it's not many jobs you can get to go to where people clap for you when you leave work. It's a lot of fun," Meek said.
The group combines back-and forth-stunts, flips, turns and some break dancing into their performances while jumping rope.
"We incorporate some of parkour, dance, gymnastics ... everything that you can imagine, we try to get in the ropes," Hseth Burch said.
Flight Crew Jump Rope was created by Lee Riesig, from Montana, in 2013 and recently came to Central Florida.
"He moved down here in February 2018, which is how the groups localized here. There are nine of us out of 20 plus spread out all across the United States," Burch said.
He's part of the group that's performed at SeaWorld, Disney theme parks and cruises, as well as circus shows.
Several of the members have been jumping ropes for more than a decade, beginning as children. It's a career path they never imagined, and they hope to continue for as long as they can.
"For a lot of us, I believe, like, performing is our passion and so being able to continue with this, jumping, would be ideal and so we're really working on developing Flight Crew both here in Florida, across the country," Burch said.
"This is my passion, this is what I love to do, it's my creative outlet," Adam Jernberg said.
It's an outlet that's allowed members to travel all over the country and more.
"Just because I have a jump rope with me, like, I never would've thought that when I was younger, that I'd be traveling the world with a jump rope and some people from across America," Matt Scoville said.
Meek is grateful he found the group.
"It's my dream come true that I didn't even know I had ... just a few years ago, this wasn't an opportunity. Before this group existed, none of us knew that professional jump rope was an option," Meek said.